warrior godfather

Chapter 246 Defense
After the start of the second quarter, both Zhang Yu and Thibodeau sent a mixed lineup of starters and substitutes, and the game continued the rhythm of the first quarter, with the two teams fighting hard.

In fact, fast break is a very important offensive method for the Warriors and Bulls. Excellent defense can help them protect more backcourt rebounds. Curry and Rose are very good at advancing quickly. The counterattacks were excellent.

But in this game, both teams paid great attention to defending against the opponent's fast break and did not give the opponent a chance to counterattack. Even Zhang Yu, who has always emphasized retreat, arranged for at least two people to fight for the frontcourt in each offensive round of the Warriors. Rebounds, delaying the Bulls' counterattack from the first line.

However, compared to the tough starting lineup, the hardness of the Bulls' bench has declined. Thibodeau put on a lineup composed of Luol Deng, Korver, Watson, Asik and Ronnie Brewer. Both Wall and Watson are stronger offensively than defensively. Although Asik is good at protecting the frame, his mobility is too poor, and he relies on discipline and execution to maintain defensive strength.

This made the Warriors' offense much more comfortable. The lineup Zhang Yu sent was a combination of Jeremy Lin, Big Z, Yi Jianlian, Matthews and Clay. Clay and Matthews only rested for a short 2 minutes in the first quarter. In a few minutes, Zhang Yu was replaced on the court again.

Due to Jeremy Lin's poor performance since the start of the game, Thibodeau arranged for Watson to guard him. Facing his old club, Watson worked very hard on the court, but his height and confrontation were not even as good as Jeremy Lin's, and he did not understand Jeremy Lin's skills. The characteristic is that Jeremy Lin frequently breaks through from the right side to the inside, or finishes the basket by himself, or passes to his teammates to score, and the pick-and-rolls instigated by him are very successful.

Not only Jeremy Lin, but Klay and Matthews also had their own achievements. In the first quarter, they performed mediocre under the strong defense of the Bulls' starting lineup, but in the transition period, under Zhang Yu's instructions, they frequently went around the screen to target Asik. A little, the effect is remarkable.

Of course, the Warriors couldn’t defend against the Bulls’ offense. Watson showed a certain impact after leaving the Warriors. Luol Deng turned into a star and frequently played singles with the ball. Korver is a well-known super shooter in the league. Can't stand Clay's off-ball, but Clay can't keep up with him even more. In the confrontation between the two, Korver firmly gained the upper hand with his seasoned experience and superb shooting skills.

It's just that the Warriors' offense is more systematic and more efficient than the Bulls. They opened the point difference to 6 points in 6 minutes and led their opponents 35:29.

Afterwards, both teams put their complete starting lineups back on the court, and the game returned to the slow pace of the first quarter, where the two teams grinded their positions one by one, trying to cooperate and dismembering the opponent's offense.

In contrast, the Warriors' starting lineup was younger, with a lower degree of running-in, and their cooperation was not as good as the Bulls' tacit understanding. At the end of the second quarter, the Bulls recovered the point difference, and the two sides tied at 47:47 and entered the intermission.

In the second quarter, neither Zhang Yu nor Thibodeau called a timeout. They both calmly watched the players on the field fighting from the sidelines, and changed players when the ball was dead, without making any tactical adjustments.

The two tacitly did not break the balance, but left the timing of the decisive battle in the second half. The whistle at the beginning of the third quarter was the horn of the decisive battle between the two sides.

Zhang Yu came to the sidelines to greet the off-field players, and glanced at Thibodeau with a serious face. He didn't know what Thibodeau was thinking, but he had found a way to break the game.

He said to Ron Adams beside him:

"Ron, what do you think of what we've just discussed?"

Ron Adams thought for a moment, nodded and said:
"Very good, can catch the Bulls by surprise and lay enough advantages for the fourth quarter."

"Advantage?" Zhang Yu smiled lightly, "No, I want to establish the victory in one fell swoop!"

……

In the home locker room at the United Center, Thibodeau said in a hoarse voice:

"...Our defense was great in the first half, and we will continue to work hard in the second half. Defense will always be our most solid backing, but there are still a few small problems. The first is the defense of Curry. Ty, you have to enter the defense in advance. Position, you can properly relax the follow-up defense for No. 23, he lacks enough independent offensive ability... Qiao Jin, adopts a strategy of long delays in defense against pick-and-rolls, try not to switch defenses, and can give Curry a chance to shoot a three-pointer with the ball, but I Don't want to see Chandler flying over your head again..."

He carefully emphasized the problems in defense and made detailed adjustments, but when it comes to offense, Thibodeau is much simpler:

"We still play pick-and-roll, Derek, you decide whether to pass or attack yourself. Others can also play singles when they find a suitable opportunity. If there is a counterattack opportunity, you must seize it..."

The 15 minutes passed quickly under the players' rest and Thibodeau's arrangement. The Bulls players returned to the court, and the opponent Warriors also stood in front of them.

In the commentary seat on the sidelines, Cole showed a clear smile:
"Sure enough, Coach Z changed the starting lineup for the second half. He replaced Klay and Matthews with Tony Allen and Butler. As a result, the Warriors' defense was stronger."

Mike Brin said:

"But in this way, the Warriors' offense will become worse. Butler's scoring is not as good as Matthews, Tony Allen has almost no offensive ability, and the Bulls' defense is very good. How should the Warriors score?"

Cole thought for a while and said:

"Coach Z obviously put his hopes on Curry, but I think he underestimated the Bulls' defense a little bit. With the Warriors' offensive points so obvious, the Bulls' defensive focus can be completely placed on Curry, which makes Curry It’s going to be hard to play.”

When the two analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the Warriors lineup, Thibodeau naturally noticed the Warriors' change, but he hesitated and still did not make adjustments.

Thibodeau is a person with a calm personality. He doesn't like to make temporary adjustments. He believes that as long as the players implement his defensive and offensive tactics well, the Bulls can deal with any opponent.

"Di-"

As the referee blew his whistle and raised his hand, the Bulls sent the baseline ball and the second half began.

Rose held the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. Tony Allen was defending him. Rose looked dignified, and his dribble was obviously much more cautious than in the first half.

When Tony Allen was playing for the Celtics before, the two faced each other a lot. Rose knew that Tony Allen was difficult, and he always protected the ball. If he was not given a chance to make a move, he would Instead of trying to single Tony Allen, he beckoned Noah to come up and cover.

But before Noah came over, Green came over first. He directly gave up Gibson, who was facing him, and swooped over to pinch Rose, who was holding the ball.

Rose was caught off guard and was forced back a few steps by him and Tony Allen, but he still controlled the basketball firmly and passed it to Gibson inside.

After Gibson received the ball, Green immediately returned to his position, and Chandler in the penalty area also rushed towards him with a fierce momentum. Gibson looked around in a panic, and wanted to pass the ball to Noah who was under the basket.

But the moment he passed the ball out, Butler on the weak side came out with a diagonal stab, intercepted Gibson's pass from the air, and sprinted towards the frontcourt with the ball!

The Bulls quickly retreated to the defense, but Curry had already run across the half court when Butler succeeded in stealing, with no one in front of him, only Rose was chasing closely behind him, and Butler quickly passed the ball.

Curry advanced with the ball, but his speed was not as fast as Rose's. The distance between the two became shorter and shorter. Instead of panicking, Curry slowed down further, stuck Rose behind him, and went even harder after reaching the basket. Leaning behind, Rose has no room to jump, and the basketball is lowered.

49: 47.

Mike Breen exclaimed:
"Nice defensive counterattack! If I remember correctly, this is the third fast break for the Warriors. The Bulls added this turnover, and there were only 3 turnovers in total. The Warriors had almost no chance to counterattack. Unexpectedly, at the beginning of the second half, The Bulls made a mistake and gave the Warriors an easy chance to score."

On the field, Gibson shook his head annoyedly when he was robbed, and raised his hand to signal that it was his fault. The restless United Center became much quieter, and the momentum of the fans was obviously reduced a lot because of this counterattack.

The Bulls sent out the baseline ball and launched an attack again. The Warriors still attacked Rose in advance. Forcing them can only keep moving the ball.

However, with the Warriors' rapid rotation and filling, the fleeting vacancy was quickly filled, which made the hesitant Bulls players lose a good chance, and even had no chance to break through with the ball. In the end, Bogens could only be there When the 24 seconds were about to expire, he hurriedly shot a three-pointer, and the rebound that popped out of the frame was pocketed by Chandler.

Cole narrowed his eyes and said:
"The Bulls' mistakes were not accidental. The Warriors defended the zone defense and put more pressure on the ball. The Bulls players obviously did not adapt to this defense. They generally lacked shooting ability. Du will make adjustments soon."

Cole's words were very firm, but Thibodeau quickly slapped him in the face, and he didn't make any adjustments until the Bulls missed consecutive offenses and the point difference was pulled to 7 points by the Warriors. Thibodeau was like a dream As if he was just waking up, he asked Noah to support him at the free throw line, and wanted him to be the pivot to revitalize the Bulls' offense.

The insider mentioned that the high position is a necessary move to break the zone defense, but at this time Noah has not yet developed the ability to respond, and he has no shooting ability. The Warriors boldly let him go. After Noah made two outrageous mid-range shots, After catching the ball, I dare not shoot anymore, so I can only look around helplessly, and then pass it to my teammates on the outside.

Facing the Warriors' zone defense, the breakthrough route was blocked so badly that the Bulls' peripheral players couldn't get in at all. They didn't have many bottom-line cutting tactics at first, so they could only pass it back and forth, and finally shot a three-pointer with interference. Divide the ball, the success rate is very low.

Cole widened his eyes, puzzled and said:
"Why is Thibodeau still not a shooter? Watson and Korver's shots are great. As long as they are on the court, the Warriors will never dare to defend the zone again! Even if Korver is only one, arrange a few off-ball runs for him With aggressive tactics, the Warriors don’t dare to defend the zone anymore!”

Mike Brin is also puzzled:
"Who knows? Maybe Thibodeau has other considerations, but the Bulls' offense is a big problem, and he has to respond immediately..."

On the other side of the technical table, Zhang Yu stared at Thibodeau intently, slowly chewing a piece of gum in his mouth, and when he found that Thibodeau did not respond, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Ron Adams gave Thibodeau a surprised look:
"Ronan, Thibodeau did not adjust his offensive tactics. How did you know? I thought it would be easy to break the zone defense with the Bulls' offensive resources, but I didn't expect Thibodeau to just not use it."

Zhang Yu smiled lightly and said:
"Hehe, if Thibodeau can respond in time, then he is not Thibodeau. He not only learned Jeff Van Gundy's defense, but also learned his inflexibility in offense."

Ron Adams asked in surprise:
"Oh? How do you know so well, this season is his first time coaching an NBA team?"

Zhang Yu smiled:
"Seven games are enough to see a person clearly."

Others don't know, but Zhang Yu knows Thibodeau very well. In his previous life, Thibodeau became a blockbuster this season, won the honor of the best head coach, led the Bulls to the first place in the Eastern Conference, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals. The posture of a handsome man.

However, he soon showed the shortcomings of liking the main force, rigid offensive tactics, and lack of adaptability. In the subsequent coaching career, he was lackluster. Leading the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals was actually the pinnacle of his coaching career.

Ron Adams said in an admiring tone:
"No wonder you said you want to win in one fell swoop. If Thibodeau really doesn't make changes, we will indeed win this game easily."

Zhang Yu shook his head:

"No, although Thibodeau is somewhat rigid in offensive tactics, he will not sit back and watch the Bulls fail to score. He just responds slowly. A simple zone defense cannot kill the Bulls."

Sure enough, shortly after Zhang Yu's voice fell, Thibodeau called a timeout, replaced Bogens, and replaced Korver.

Korver, who was ordered in danger, lived up to expectations, and soon made a three-pointer to stop the bleeding, helping the Bulls stabilize the situation.

But at this time, 6 minutes had passed since the start of the third quarter. The Warriors relied on zone defense and defensive counterattacks to expand the point difference to 14 points. After Korver made a three-pointer, they also led their opponents 69:58.

In this slow-paced game, a double-digit point difference is already a chasm.

In the rest of the third quarter, the Warriors switched back to normal man-to-man defense. The two teams returned to the slow-paced positional battle in the first half. Each round took almost 24 seconds to complete the end. In the end, The two sides battled to 83:73, and the Warriors entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead.

On the sidelines, Silas shook his head helplessly and said:

"This game seems destined to be so slow. It's not happy that we can't play the offense we want."

Zhang Yu said calmly:
"This is the characteristic of the Bulls and Thibodeau's style. What he is best at is to drag opponents into positional battles, and then use his rich experience to win. Fortunately, the Bulls are not in the West. Otherwise, we would have to experience this 4 times a season. torture."

(End of this chapter)